The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which may be unique on their own.
In conventional database systems, users access data resources from a single logical database. Typically, data is retrieved from and stored to the database using the computing systems or devices of the user. For example, a user system remotely accesses one of a multiple servers that in turn accesses a database, the user issues a query to the database to retrieve data, and the database processes the query and returns information from the database, which is relevant to the query, to the user. Maintaining a database to retrieve and deliver accurate information to a user in a timely and efficient manner has been and continues to be a goal of database system administrators.
In a multi-tenant database system, various elements of hardware and software of a database may be shared by one or more customers through “cloud computing” solutions which allow service providers to offer access to hardware/software systems through a network, such as the Internet. For example, an application server may be configured to simultaneously process multiple requests for many different customers, and a database may be configured to store data that is shared by many different customers.
Customers of database systems demand up-to-date, comprehensive data. For example, sales and marketing organizations need accurate and up-to-date contact information to maintain good relations with existing customers as well as solicit leads for new customers. Unfortunately, conventional database systems rely on individuals to maintain their own contact information, and therefore, even within a single organization, multiple individuals may have inconsistent and/or inaccurate contact information.
An advantage of a multi-tenant database system is that business enterprises may share data resources, and rely on the multi-tenant database system provider to maintain the data, such as personal and/or business contact information. Another advantage is that all personnel within a single enterprise have access to the exact same contact information, so that inaccuracies or inconsistencies within the organization no longer exist.
When a customer discovers a problem with stored data in a multi-tenant database system, such as the failure of an attempted delivery of an email, the customer may contact a multi-tenant database system to report the problem. The multi-tenant database system, using automated machine techniques and/or administrator intervention, may attempt to solve the problem and update its stored information, if appropriate.
For example, error messages, such as “invalid mailbox” or “mailbox full,” are usually returned by an email server when there is a problem with the specified email address. These messages can be useful in determining what type of action to take to solve a problem. Most conventional techniques for string recognition rely on examining strings of characters, one character at a time, to characterize or match the strings to known strings. Such techniques can be slow and inefficient.